Robert Pattinson made his first post-scandal appearance Monday during the premiere for his thriller, Cosmopolis, held at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

Entering amid a crush of fans waiting outside, he warily made his way across the building, through the cool air conditioning, to the television cameras. Just as we cried out “how are you feeling?” as he walked by, out jumped his bodyguard. He scaled the opposite end of the carpet as if he couldn’t get further away from us. (Surprisingly, his hair — including facial hair — is very red in person.)

Who could blame him? Girlfriend Kristen Stewart publicly admitted she cheated on him with a married man weeks ago. After all, his career (and her’s) has been built on their Twilight romance. No doubt, it’s a tough time.

Sarah plays his heiress wife Elise in the film which takes place across the course of one day as Rob’s character, financial whiz Eric, cruises across town in a limousine. He sees his charmed life descend into chaos.

What was it like working with Rob?

“It was incredible,” she says. “I was curious when I signed on to the project, and what I thought was so interesting is that he’s someone who is entirely ego-less as a person, but he’s playing a character that has a massive ego. It was really interesting to watch him switch back and forth.”

In order to prepare for the role, the two actors never rehearsed.

“We were supposed to have an awkward relationship,” she explains. ”We’re two people who spend the whole film trying to find each other, but we never seem to be speaking the same language. I think our lack of knowledge about each other helped inform that relationship.”

How does Rob cope with the scrutiny about his personal life while filming?

“We’re in a bubble,” says director David Cronenberg. “We’re like the character in his limo. We’re insulated against the outside world, we’re having fun, and we’re just dealing with making the movie. It’s great, so I don’t have to deal with the other stuff.”

Even though Rob is a public figure, he still managed to surprise him.

“You’re always surprised by his English accent, if you haven’t watched interviews with him, which I hadn’t. Actually, Paul Giamatti said he thought he was faking an English accent. He didn’t realize he was English.”

Was he worried Rob wouldn’t promote the film given the difficult circumstances?